Publications

~05-08-2015~
National Post — There was Patrick Stewart, PhD candidate, defending his final dissertation before a handful of hard-nosed examiners at the University of British Columbia late last month. The public was invited to watch; two dozen curious onlookers saw Stewart attempt to persuade five panelists that his 149-page thesis has merit, that it is neither outlandishly “deficient,” as some had insisted it was, nor an intellectual affront.
Unusual? It is definitely that. Stewart’s dissertation, titled Indigenous Architecture through Indigenous Knowledge, eschews almost all punctuation. There are no periods, no commas, no semi-colons in the 52,438-word piece. Stewart concedes the odd question mark, and resorts to common English spelling, but he ignores most other conventions, including the dreaded upper case. His paper has no standard paragraphs. Its formatting seems all over the map.

~05-08-2015~
Doctoral dissertations tend to be long-winded texts filled with academic jargon. But that’s not the case for Patrick Stewart’s dissertation. Stewart is a Nisga’a architect who just defended his doctoral dissertation at the University of British Columbia. His dissertation was written in a method that reflects his cultural background and First Nations oral traditions. The dissertation looks into how aboriginal architects use traditional knowledge in their design process, a topic which he’s very familiar with.

~11-14-2013~
Patrick Stewart is the architect responsible for the design of the Aboriginal Children's Village, a foster care housing development in east Vancouver. This project is particularly close to his heart, as he sees a piece of himself in the children that will be living in the development.

~5-12-2009~
Patrick Stewart’s career is remarkable enough: he has overcome the odds of native heritage in a white society, and an upbringing in foster care to become a prominent Vancouver architect. But it’s his undying commitment to tackling aboriginal homelessness that is truly inspirational.
In addition to serving on Mayor Gregor Robertson’s Homeless Emergency Action Team, Stewart heads Metro Vancouver’s Aboriginal Homelessness Steering Committee as well as the National Aboriginal Housing Association.

When I catch up with him at his Commercial Drive office, Stewart is dressed in black, but not the trendy designer black of his downtown counterparts: just a smart but casual outfit of open-necked shirt and pleated pants. The flash of three silver rings on his right hand is the only hint of a distinct creative flair.
He tells me of being taken into the care of the province at birth, of a brother who called the streets of the Downtown Eastside home for 20 years, and of a sister’s struggles to stay off of welfare.
Speaking calmly and deliberately from the comfort of his warm office, he explains that the emergency response of the new city administration is encouraging, but is only a beginning: “Open beds, get them off the street: OK, check, we’ve done that,” he says. “The next steps are difficult, and require a lot of resources.”
But solving homelessness ultimately requires more than just throwing money at the problem, Stewart explains. “It starts with political will. Homelessness is created by people, so it takes people to solve homelessness, without retreating behind their little titles or job descriptions or ministries, and actually wanting to do something.”
A note of frustration creeps into his voice as he describes the provincial government’s recession budget of last March, which clawed back $80 million from housing services. “Recession doesn’t mean anything to the homeless,” Stewart says. “Go to Main and Hastings and they’ll say, ‘We’re always in a recession here; tell me when there’s some good news – you’ve got a house for me or something I can afford.’”

~10-01-2004~
Owned and operated by Lu’ma Native BCH Housing Society, we opened our doors on October 1st, 2004 to serve Aboriginal communities of BC and Yukon for patient travel. The Lodge depends on revenue from room charges to break even. Your staying at the Lodge contributes to our ability to continue to operate.
Inspiration to build the Lodge came Aboriginal patient advocates from BC Womens Hospital & Health Centre who found the need was great for an accommodation that is culturally safe and appropriate.

Patrick Stewart, Nisga’a architect ,designed the building to reflect Indigenous architecture with a contemporary functionality. There are 22 apartments with generous quarters, each with a balcony atop great log pedestals, reminiscent of Long Houses. 15 units are dedicated to affordable housing for Aboriginal families and 7 units are furnished to create the Aboriginal Patient’s Lodge.